This ban on PUBG and Fortnite comes after it was taken up at the Iraqi parliament earlier this week. This makes Iraq the fourth country to impose a ban on the game.

PUBG’s troubles seem far from over in India and internationally as people keep petitioning to ban the game. Parents and others in India have asked for a ban on the game to which the authorities in Rajkot in the state of Gujarat listened to, following which there was an outcry by the parents in the UAE as well. A ban was imposed on the popular battle royale game PUBG Mobile in India after claims of negative effects on underage persons, which has since been taken off. Following which, the game has been banned in the Himalayan state of Nepal because it concerned authorities and parents. And now the authorities in Iraq are reportedly on their way to banning the game considering it a threat to the minds of young people.

After the recent reports of a PUBG ban being taken up at the Iraqi Parliament where a draft law was submitted stating that PUBG is having a corrupting influence on the minds people. The game has now been banned in the country making it the fourth country to impose a ban on the game. The Iraqi parliamentary committee submitted the draft on Saturday asking for a ban of the game which was passed and now the game along with Fortniteis banned in the country. According to a Reuters report the games have been banned, “due to the negative effects caused by some electronic games on the health, culture, and security of Iraqi society, including societal and moral threats to children and youth.”

The game has been banned in Nepal by it’s federal investigation agency, and the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) has ordered ISPs, mobile providers and network service providers to block PUBG. There were clear cut reason given for this move, but a statement much like the one we have seen in India was provided by the NTA’s deputy director who told Reuters that parents were worried their their children were being distracted from their studies and day to day lives.

In India it was banned by the Police Commissioner Manoj Agrawal on March 6 who released a notification that read, “It has come to our notice from various media that PUBGgame, MOMO challenge is leading to a violent attitude among youth. The game is also having an impact on studies as well as behaviour, conduct and language of children and youth… Keeping in mind public safety security and to maintain law and order, I hereby impose a ban on playing PUBG game.”

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Recently Khaleej Times of the UAE reported that parents are demanding a ban on the game citing reasons that it makes students aggressive and is in general a ‘bad influence on youth’. The report quotes a parent saying, “PUBG should surely be banned as it has a negative effect on the children’s mind. It makes them very aggressive. Kids have taken this game so seriously that nothing else seems to matter to them — not even studying. They care only about winning in this game.” The parent added, “With the recent New Zealand mosque attack, it didn’t surprise me when I read the response of the attacker and how games like Spyro Dragon and Fortnitetrained him to be a killer.” There are time limiting sanctions on PUBG in its home country of China as well.

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But, to lay to rest any concerns that parents might have, studies have found that video games don’t have any effect on people’s tendencies towards violence. There have been numerous studies that have come to this conclusion, and the most recent one took place in the Oxford University where the researchers claimed that their findings were opposed to the popular belief.